World Perspectives
feed-grains

Barley Market Tightens

The global barley market is only about one-eighth the size of the corn market but to major exporters (France, Russia, Australia, Canada) and to major importers (Middle East, China), it is a very important crop. Like other commodities, barley prices have been rising. Production fell 6.8 percent this year and global ending stocks are off nearly 22 percent from two years ago. The area harvested to the crop has fallen for two years in a row. Barley will become more important as a cover crop as agriculture seeks to control its emissions, but it is also a crop that thrives in a cooler climate, an environmental condition that is declining. It has substitutes as an animal feed but becomes more precious when turned into beer. The decline in average...

Related Articles
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2825/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.38/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $10.6425/bushel, down $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $293.6/short ton, down $2.4...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Get Out of Dodge Friday

Although the week was mixed, there was a convincing move lower on Friday. The mood spelled exit as all the major agricultural contracts closed lower. Even those trading the three major wheat contracts, who had mostly countered the bearish sensibilities elsewhere on the board in many of the prev...

livestock

Livestock Round Up: Cattle Inventory Report

USDA’s semi-annual cattle report was issued today. The inventory of all cattle and calves in the U.S. as of 1 January was 86,155,300 head, slightly below—or about 316,900 head fewer than—the 86,472,200 head on 1 January 2025.  This year showed the seventh consecutive ann...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2825/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.38/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $10.6425/bushel, down $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $293.6/short ton, down $2.4...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Get Out of Dodge Friday

Although the week was mixed, there was a convincing move lower on Friday. The mood spelled exit as all the major agricultural contracts closed lower. Even those trading the three major wheat contracts, who had mostly countered the bearish sensibilities elsewhere on the board in many of the prev...

livestock

Livestock Round Up: Cattle Inventory Report

USDA’s semi-annual cattle report was issued today. The inventory of all cattle and calves in the U.S. as of 1 January was 86,155,300 head, slightly below—or about 316,900 head fewer than—the 86,472,200 head on 1 January 2025.  This year showed the seventh consecutive ann...

livestock

Cracking the Egg Price Mystery

Egg prices have been through a volatile 18 months, rallying sharply in LH 2024 and into early 2025 as bird flu decimated the U.S. layer flock. In early 2025, the U.S. layer flock for table eggs specifically fell to at least a 10-year low, at 286.4 million birds, down about 16 percent from the 2...

Image
From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up